Display device.



O. L. SMITH.

DISPLAY DEVICE.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 20. 1912.

1,21 9,405. Patented Mar. 13, 1917.

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0. L. SMITH.

DISPLAY DEVICE.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 20. l9l2.

1 ,21 9,405. Patented Mar. 13, 1917.

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OSCAR I1. SMITH, OF GRAND RAPIDS, MICHIGAN, ASSIGNOR T0 SAMUEL D. YOUNG,

TRUSTEE, or GRAND DISPLAY Application filed May 20, 1

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ()soan L. SMrrr-r, a citizen of the United States,residing at Grand Rapids, in the county of Kent and State of Michigan,have invented an Tmprovement in Display Devices, of which the followingdescription, in connection with the accompanying drawings, is aspecification, like letters on the drawings representing like parts.

The invention to be hereinafter described relates to display devices forexhibiting goods, such, for instance, as ready-made garments in storesand other places, and more particularly to that type of such deviceswherein a rotatable rack is movable to and from a position within a caseor cabinet, and is capable of rotative movement to bring all parts ofthe rack to front while the rack remains in front position.

It is desirable that a rack of general rec tangular form be employed onaccount of economy of floor space and other considera tions, and thatwhen in front position it be capable of free rotation, that is, rotationthrough three hundred and sixty degrees. It is likewise desirable thatsuch rack be prevented from injuring the case or cabinet when moved toand from its position within the same; such results broadly beingsecured by the patent to Smith No. 987,183, dated March 21, 1911. In theapplication of Anthony Vanderveld, Serial No. 647,340, filed September2, 1911, as a further development of this same characteristic, meanswere employed which, while permitting free rotative. movement of therack when at front position, would prevent or restrict such freerotative capacity as the rack was moved to and from its position withinthe case or cabinet. In the Vanderveld application these characteristicsof invention were embodied as one form of the invention, in a membersecured to the case or cabinet cooperating with a member secured to therotatable rack, where as the rack was being moved to or from itsposition within the case or cabinet, the glass of the case or cabinetwould not be injured, and such invention in its generic character iscovered by the claims of said Vanderveld application.

With these facts in mind, the aims and purposes of the present inventionare to improve certain features of the device of the Vanderveldapplication, which improve Specification of Letters Patent.

RAPIDS, MICHIGAN.

DEVICE.

Patented Mar. 13, 1917.

912. Serial No. 698,361.

ments, although subordinate to the broad invention of said application,possess certain advantages of structure and operation, all of which willbe made clear from the following description and accompanying drawingssetting forth one form or embodiment of means embraced by the presentinvention.

In the drawings Figure 1 is a front elevation showing a display devicecontaining the present invention;

Fig. 2 is a sectional view on line 22, Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a sectional view similar to Fig. 2, showing another positionof the rotatable rack;

Fig. 4 is a detached detail showing one form of buffer.

The case or cabinet comprises a suitable base portion 1 having a falsebottom 2 below which suitable tracks or guideways 3 (Fig. 2) may beprovided for guiding a carriage 4, which carriage is movable to and froma position within the case, and may be preferably limited in thesemovements by means of a slot 5 formed in the false bottom 2 of the case.

From the bottom of the case or cabinet rise the corner posts 6 betweenwhich are the glass panels 7 The top of the case, as usual, is providedwith a similar glass panel supported in a suitable frame. The front ofthe case or cabinet may be closed when desired by doors 8, said doorsbeing shown by Figs. 2 and 3 in open position, and said doors may eachcomprise a usual framework for supporting a panel of glass.

From the construction thus far described, it will be apparent thatregardless of specific detail, the case or cabinet comprises side, backand top portions formed mainly of glass, or if desired, they may beformed entirely of glass panels properly secured together at theiredges, and as such construction is well known in the art furtherdescriptions thereof will be unnecessary.

Suitably mounted on the carriage 4 and rotatable with respect thereto,is a rack for supporting garments and the like. The manner of thusrotatably supporting the rack upon the carriage 4 is not of the es-'sence of the present invention, and may be of any character desired, butas shown in the drawings which present one form of means to this end,the carriage 4 has projecting upwardtherefrom, a suitable supportingstud-9 which-passes through the slot of the falserbottom 2 and 011which-are mounted the rigid arms 10 forming the lower supporting elementfor the rack. Rising from the "sup porting arms 10 are the uprights 11carrying at their upper portions the cross arms 12' which sustain therack bars 13 and 14, said rack bars being preferably connected at theirends by a guard 15 in order to confine the clothing supported by therack from swingingr unduly outward as the rack is rotated v and fromcoming in contact with the case.

' rear wall of the case.

The rack thus presents a rectangular form of supporting frame, upon therack bars 13 and 1 1 of which garment hangers may be sustained and theyin turn, may support the garments to be displayed.

From the construction thus far described, itwill be noted'that when therack is drawn to front positionby. movement of the .carriage 4, saidrack may berfreely rotated, that is, may be rotated through threehundred and sixty degrees in either direction in order to bringxallparts of the rack to front position for inspection, cleaning, and otherwise examining or manipulating the garments hung: thereon; 'and thatsuch rack thus rotatable may be moved into the case into such positionthat the doors 8 may be closed and the rack witlrits garments therein beprotected from unauthorizedhandling, dust and dirt. V

In a rack of this character, it isessential that some means be providedfor preventing the rack bars or parts connected therewith from coming incontact with the glass. panels of the case, more especially the rearglass panel, in order to prevent breakage thereof. In all devicesheretofore known, some means has been secured to the case to coact witha member attached to and rotatable with the. rack, to prevent thisinjurious contact and breakage of the glass.

The present invention, however, contemplates the elimination of anyspecial means for-this purpose and to provide for this wrong contact ofthe rack and its connectcd'parts with the glass portions of thecase,

by a portion of the case or cabinet frameextended beyond" the pointwhere the uprights 11 rise therefrom, as at 17, and the end portions ofthese extensions 17, one at eachend .ofthe supporting arms 10, areprovided with the center guard members 18 preferably formed on the arcof a circle with the center at the axis of the rotatable rack and of aradius greater than the distance be: tween said axis and the extremeends of the rack bars 18 and 1a. The end portion-s of these center guardmembers 18. may be provided with buffers 19, which are preferablyformed'as rubber rollers, mounted on suitable axes 20, on the sideportions of the guard members 18, as more fully shown by Fig. 1. Theguard members 18 which for identification may be termed the center guardme1nbers,have a guard surface formed preferably curved and alsopreferably on the are of a circle of a radius greater than the distanceof the ends of the rack bars from the axis of rotation of the rack, andsuch guards are preferably extended at each side beyond the verticalplanes passing longitudinally through the rack bars. Fromtheconstructiondescribed, it will be apparent that should the rack beturned upon its axis at its inner position, '(as indicated in Fig. 2),one of the rubber buffers 19 onan end portion of'rthe center guardmembers 18 will contact with the back'member- 16 of the case and preventcontact of the rack bars and portions connected therewith from breakingthe glass, or contacting with the glass panels; and should the rack bemoved into the case without lining the rack bars 13 and lt parallel-withthe back wallof the case, the curved guard members 18 or the sidebuffers 19 mounted thereon, would similarly contact with the back member16 of the case, and cause the rack to rotate into proper position, asindicated by Fig. 2. 7

By reason of' the formation of the center guard members 18', ashereinbefore described,

it will likewise be apparent that when the.

rack is in outer position, should it be turned so-that the rack bars areperpendicular to the rear glass wallof the case and the rack, at suchtime, be forced inward, the center guard members 18-by their curvedportion or edge,'which' extends longitudinally beyond the ends of therack bars would contact with the back member 16 of the'case and preventthe rack bars from breaking the glass. Should the-rotatable rack bepushed inward from front position with the rack bars in any other thanperpendicular relation with the back glass wall of the case, one'ofthebuffers 19 on the side extensions of the center guard members 18 willcontact with-the member 16 of the case and cause the rack to be properlyalined in the case as it reaches its inner position.

As apreferred" form of construction, the supporting arms 10, theextensions 17 and the center guard members 18 may be integrally formedor cast, but obviously the present invention is not restricted in thisrespect, as they might be otherwise formed and connected together. Itwill also be noted that, since the radial distance of the buffers 19from the axis of the rack, as well as the radial distance of the outersurface of the center guard members 18 from said axis, is greater thanthe radial distance of the extreme end portions of the rack bars fromsaid axis, in no position of the rack can the rack bars or the guardsconnected thereto come in contact with and injure the glass panels ofthe case.

Obviously, changes may be made in the details pointed out as the presentembodiment of the invention without departing materially from theinvention as pointed out by the claims.

hat is claimed is 1- 1. In a display device, the combination of a caseor cabinet having a bumper extending along its lower part, a rotatablerack having rack bars and movable in and out of the cabinet, supportingarms for the rotatable rack raving longitudinal extensions, and lowerguard members connected to the supporting arms and having central andside extensions each projecting a greater distance radially from theaxis of rotation of the rack than the end of the rack bars that thelower guard members may engage the bumper before the rack bars engagethe glass should the rack be moved into the cabinet when not parallelwith the rear of the cabinet.

2. In a display device, the combination of a case or cabinet having abumper at its lower part, a rotatable rack having parallel rack bars,supporting arms at the lower part of the case carrying said rack barsand provided with end extensions, and center and side guard members theouter guarding surfaces of which are formed in the arc of a circle aboutthe axis of the rack as a center and of greater radius than the distancefrom the axis of rotation to the ends of the rack bars, that theguarding surface of the guard members may contact with the bumper before the rack bars engage the glass should the rack be moved into thecabinet when not parallel with the rear of the cabinet.

3. In a display device, the combination of a case or cabinet having abumper at its lower part, a rack movable to and from a position withinthe case or cabinet and revoluble about a vertical axis centrally of therack, a lower supporting rack arm revoluble with the rack and projectingbeyond the rack at each end thereof, said arm terminating at its ends incurved members transversely of the arm, all parts of which extend beyondthe rack that the said curved members may engage the bumper before therack bars engage the glass should the rack be moved into the cabinetwhen not parallel with the back wall of the cabinet.

In testimony whereof, I have signed my name to this specification, inthe presence of two subscribing witnesses.

OSCAR L. SMITH. Vitnesses:

ARTHUR J. SPELLMAN, BEATRICE I. SMITH.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. C.

